Choices
by iluvdance622
Summary: Amy is trying to win back a certain love...
1. Chapter 1

AN: Okay, I don't own the 39 clues or any of the characters- duh. Oh, and this is my first 39 clues fanfic!! Hope you enjoy it!!

Chapter One: The 39th Clue

Amy's POV

I looked out the window of the hotel that Dan, the Holts and I were staying in. I saw the oak trees, the sports fields... and our old apartment. Yes, we were back in Boston. The thirty ninth clue was located here.

I picked at the Apple Jacks I was eating for breakfast. I was nervous, and I had good reason to be. Dan and I had just found the thirty- eighth clue, which had been located in the Amazon Rainforest, and now we were looking for the thirty- ninth one. Since we had an alliance with the Holts, they knew it too. Only one team could win, and soon, we would have to break off our alliance. Both of our families knew that, and neither of us wanted to do it first. We needed each other to survive! Dan and I would have died numerous times if not for the Holt family's chivalry.

Also, we were in Boston. Aunt Beatrice was here. Beatrice 'the Bloody' as Dan called her, had called off the police search because she thought we were dead, but if she saw us, that would be very bad.

And, to top off the anxiety, Dan and I still were a little unsure about who Nellie was. She had been acting strange lately, acting way over protective. She never let Dan or me out of her sight, and she kept her laptop within arms reach at all times, ever since she caught Dan snooping around on it a few weeks ago.

I heard some rustling from the room opposite of where Dan, Nellie, and I slept. The Holts must have finally woken up. One thing that I hadn't known about them before I roomed with them was that they slept in extremely late.

"What's for breakfast?" I heard Eisenhower boom in his loud voice.

"Cereal!" I shouted back.

"Aww! I want pancakes!" Eisenhower grumbled. For some reason, he had issues with cereal.

"Don't worry, Dad," Hamilton said, "I'll whip up some pancakes especially for you."

There's another random fact about the Holts; Hamilton is actually a very good cook. Almost as good as Nellie.

Hamilton came out, and went over to the stove. He made blueberry pancakes.

When the table was set and everyone had sat down to eat the amazing pancakes, I decided to tell about the alliance break.

"Um, I have an announcement to make," I said hesitantly. I didn't sound very confident, but at least my voice wasn't stuttering.

"What's up, Amester?" Hamilton asked, using the nickname he had given me.

"Well," I started, not sure how to say this. "I think we should stop the alliance. We're almost to the end of this race. Only one team can win, and I don't want to end up fighting over the last clue."

Surprisingly, the Holts nodded their heads in agreement. "You're right," Mary-Todd said. "It would be best to go our separate ways now. So... after breakfast, we'll go to a different hotel? Would that work?"

"Sure," I said. I hadn't imagined that this would be so easy.

The conversation died after that. All of us finished our breakfast in silence, not looking at each other. It was awkward.

I didn't want to leave the Holts. I had become... attached to them. Especially Hamilton. After saving each other's butts a few times, we had become pretty good friends. It was necessary though. Best get it over with now.

Dan and I escorted the Holts to the door. Nellie would have, too, but she was still sleeping. We didn't want to wake her up, because if she got less than ten hours of sleep, she was really cranky.

"I guess this is goodbye...." Hamilton said to me.

"Yeah," I said. It sounded awkward. Everything about this conversation was awkward. "Well, good luck. Hopefully one of us will win," Hamilton half smiled. "I'm glad I got to know you."

And then he did something completely unexpected. He hugged me. Just a quick hug, kind of a departure type of hug. It was comforting.

"See you around," I said halfheartedly. I wasn't quite sure what to say in a situation like this.

"Yup. Bye," And then Hamilton followed his family out the door.

I sighed. I would miss him. I hoped that if Dan and I didn't win, then they would.

"I'm going to miss them," Dan said ruefully. "Especially Reagan. She's fun to play football with."

Dan and Reagan, and Madison, had bonded quite a lot. All of them were into dangerous stuff, and experimenting. Sports, too. A lot of sports. A fair number of lamps had been broken because of footballs being thrown around.

"Where are the Holts?" Nellie asked. I jumped; I hadn't realized she had come up behind us.

"They left," Dan explained. "We broke our alliance because we are so close to the last clue."

"Oh," Nellie said blankly. "That's too bad, kiddos."

"We're not kiddos!" Dan said indignantly.

"Whoa, whoa," Nellie held up her hands, surrendering. "Sorry," She was trying to hold back a smile. That just made Dan angrier. The look on his face was priceless.

"Well," Dan said, annoyed, "I would like you to know that I have an idea on what the clue might mean."

"Really?" I exclaimed. "What?" We had been trying to figure out the riddle for the past week. It was very hard to figure out, and my brain just couldn't grasp what it could possibly mean.

"Yes!" Dan's eyes glinted. "Read over it, and see if you can figure it out!"

Ugh. Why did I have to read it? Why couldn't he just tell me what it meant?

"Fine," I sighed. I started to read it.

"Ponder the question,

Follow the trail.

Go back to the beginning,

And the truth you will unveil."

"Don't you understand?" Dan was practically jumping out of his seat.

"No! We have searched the Benjamin Franklin stuff for hours and hours! That's where we started and we still haven't found anything!"

By this point, Dan was literally jumping up and down. "That's not the beginning!" His eyes danced. "The beginning of the clues was at Graces mansion!"


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Okay, thank you to the people who reviewed!! I'm not sure what's going to happen with Amy's romance yet, so don't fret Ian/Amy lovers! :) also, I don't own the 39 clues. On with the story.

Chapter Two: Unexpected Appearances

Amy's POV

Almost immediately after Dan had told us about Grace's mansion, Nellie had agreed to drive us over. "Okay," she had said. She didn't bother questioning anything like any other adult would do. That was one of the seriously awesome things about our au pair.

We were about halfway there now, and the city buildings were starting to fade, a country landscape taking it's place.

After about ten minutes, we arrived at the long driveway. I saw the ruins of the mansion, now just rubble and dirt on the ground, with the occasional piece of colored glass, and then it hit me.

I hadn't even thought about how seeing this place would affect me. I had only wanted to find the clue. But now, staring at what used to be Dan and mine's favorite weekend hangout spot, I had to put a ton of of effort into not breaking down and sobbing.

Suck it up! I screamed at myself in my mind. Huh. That sounds weird, kind of makes me sound like a crazy person. Just a little.

"Amy?" Dan asked, sounding worried.

"Huh?" I asked. I was totally out of it. Dan had probably said my name, like, fifty times and I hadn't noticed.

"Where should we start? Do you have any ideas?"

I noticed something in the distance, about a hundred yards away or so. A flash of coffee colored skin, a little glint of gold. Jonah Wizard.

"Dan," I whispered. "Look behind you."

He turned around, and gasped. "Jonah Wizard," he breathed. "What is he doing here?"

Jonah, apparently realizing that we noticed him, came out of the bush he was hiding behind. Weirdly, his dad wasn't behind him typing on his Blackberry. Something was definently up.

"Hey Cahills!" He shouted. "What's up, home dogs?"

"Not much!" Dan yelled back. Clearly, he wasn't intimidated. "How's it going?"

"It's all good! So whatcha doin here? Maybe... looking for clues? Maybe... the last clue?" Jonah smiled knowingly.

Dan and I shared a look. How did he know? Dan shrugged his shoulders at me.

Jonah continued on with his little speech. "To put it quite frankly, I can't let that happen, peeps."

All this time, he had been walking closer to us. Now, he started sprinting toward us, and dang, he was fast! I had never realized how in shape he was!

Dan, Nellie, and I had quick reflexes, though. Unfortunately, Jonah was to fast for me. Dan and Nellie kept running, however.

Jonah grasped me around my waist, picked me up, and started running toward a limousine.

Oh gosh, what was happening? Would Jonah kill me? I hoped not.

He opened the door of the black limo, and stuck me in it. Then, he climbed in after me. ' "Amy?" He said. His tone of voice was different. Somehow... hesitant. That concerned me, because the normal Jonah was cocky and a completely conceited jerk. So this was a completely new experience for me.

"What?" What was he going to say to me?

Jonah blushed. Really, what was up with him? "Amy, will you go on a date with me?"

AN: Dun dun dun! Cliff hanger! Can I ask for ten reviews? Give me criticism, tell me your favorite part, whatever. Just review please!!! :)


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Okay people, a lot of you didn't like the whole Amy/Jonah thing going on, don't quit now! Read the next few chapters :). Also, someone told me that I didn't need to put Amy's POV up every time, and I understand why, because all of it has been in Amy's POV, but some of it won't be. On with the story.

Chapter Three: Where's Amy?

Dan's POV

After Nellie, Amy, and I had gotten a fair distance away from the stupid Beverly Hills jerk, we stopped to rest because Nellie was tired. I was tired too, but if I said anything, my ninja skills would seem completely destroyed.

I turned around to ask Amy if she was okay, because she had been really quiet, but, she wasn't there! Where was she then?

Thankfully, Nellie was here. "Where's Amy?" I asked her.

Nellie sighed. "She was taken by Jonah," She said. "I noticed, and would have told you, but I knew you'd try to save her. There was nothing we could do, Jonah locked Amy in his car and drove away. I'm sorry, Dan."

Oh. Dang, this was not good. Even if my super awesome powers and amazing brain skills were good, Amy was the bookworm. She always had a bunch of random but useful facts just laying around in her brain, and, even if I would never admit it to her, I needed her to keep me alive. Rarely, my plans did fail. If it hadn't been for her, I probably would have kicked the bucket numerous times.

"What can we do to save her?" I wondered out loud.

"I dunno, kiddo," Nellie said back to me.

Ugh! That nickname again! I thought I ditched that, like, last year. "Don't call me kiddo!" I frowned. I hated that stinking nickname.

"Sorry, kiddo" Nellie smirked, but in a joking way. Not bad, like Ian Kabra or anything.

Yuck. Ian. I hated that dude, for two reasons. One, he broke my sister's heart. And two, he looked at me like I was some sort of pest! Plus there was the whole filthy rich deal....

Haha. I started snickering, remembering the time Ian's pants had been tore by Buffy (what kind of a name is Buffy?). His underwear had pink dollar signs on them. I laughed harder.

I realized Nellie was snapping her fingers in front of my face, trying to get my attention. Amy was right when she says I space out a lot.

"Hello? Earth to Dan?" Nellie said. "Why are you laughing? You're sister was taken hostage by on of your nasty relatives. Last time I checked, that's not exactly a joking matter!"

"Oh, right," I concentrated on the problem again. "Um, we could, like-" I yawned.

I was so tired. I hadn't really been getting a whole lot of sleep when Amy and I were out looking for clues until midnight.

Nellie nodded, understanding. "First we need to rest up. I'll drive us back to the hotel, and we can work on the situation in the morning."

So, we got into the car and back to the hotel for some well deserved rest.

***

Amy's POV

I hoped I didn't regret coming here. I had, for better or for worse, agreed to the date. I had figured that not much could go wrong in a five star Italian restaurant. Plus, Jonah had never really been that nasty to me. So, what the heck? I'd give him a chance.

So, I was here, in a fancy dress that one of Jonah's bodyguards had laid out for him, with Jonah sitting opposite of me. Never in my wildest dreams (or nightmares) had I thought this would happen.

"So, Amy, how's it going with the clue hunt?" Jonah asked me while looking at the menu. He then looked over at the waiter and said, "Yo, bring me the baked alaska with pastrami."

"It's been going good. How about you?" I asked politely. Also, I didn't like talking about those matters with the competition, even if he was being pretty nice tonight. Not trying to kill me or anything, like other people I knew....

My heart clenched. Ian. I still liked him. I thought he had really liked me.... I dazed out, thinking of him, until I realized I was still with Jonah. Then I snapped out of my daydream about Ian.

"It's good. Got a pretty good number of clues. How many clues do you have?" Jonah was getting a little bit to personal for my comfort at this point.

"I'd rather not tell you if that's okay," I smiled at him.

Jonah smiled back. "What are they?"

"Um, I'd rather not tell you that either...." What was he doing?

"Oh, I think you should tell me. Or else you're jade necklace is going out the window and into the street." Jonah smiled evilly, and showed me the necklace. How had he gotten the necklace? I didn't know, but that wasn't important right now. What was important was that my only keepsake of Grace was about to be roadkill.

I gasped. "You wouldn't," I said nervously.

Jonah kept smiling, and opened the window next to our booth. "Try me," he said viciously.

Ugh! I ground my teeth together. Why had I even trusted this no good, rotten, lying snitch? I was stupid to think he wouldn't trick me! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

This wasn't the time for punishing myself. I needed to think of a plan, and fast. I closed my eyes, and rubbed my temples, when I heard a very familiar, British accented voice.

"I'll take that."

Looking up, I found myself looking at a very gorgeous, tall, tan, ebony haired guy. He had amber eyes. It was Ian. And in his hand, he held my jade necklace. In his other hand, he held a dart gun pointed at Jonah the jerk.

"Come on, Amy," Ian said. My stomach was doing backflips. Partially because he was so good looking, and partially because he had just saved me from giving away a heck of a lot of information.

"Okay," I replied, and walked with him.

We walked over to a charcoal colored Maserati, with a driver in the front. "Here's your necklace, by the way," Ian dropped the necklace in my hands. "Where should I drop you off?"

"Um, at the Hampton, over by the baseball stadium. And thanks, for saving me back there. That was really brave of you." I smiled at him.

He smiled back. "It was nothing."

The rest of the car ride was rather quiet. I was wondering rather I should trust Ian; after all, he had left me in a cave to die back in Seoul.

When we got to the hotel, I left in a hurry, without saying goodbye. I needed to make sure Dan and Nellie knew that I was safe. They were probably going crazy right now.

When I got up to the hotel room, I knocked on the door.

No answer.

I knocked again, thinking that maybe they hadn't heard me.

Still no answer.

I sighed. Dan and Nellie were probably sleeping, and both of them were heavy sleepers. Nothing would wake them up.

I laid down on the floor, not knowing what to do, and went to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Thank you, people who reviewed! Clearly, you're glad that Jonah is a lying jerk. So am I :). Well, not much to say here, so on with the story.

Chapter Four: Daydreams

Hamilton's POV

I was sitting around at my apartment trying to figure out a clue that I had found. It said, 'Beaten, abused, hurt, used. Follow the Holocaust.' what did that mean? Clearly, we were supposed to go to follow the Holocaust. Probably, we were supposed to find out about the millions of Jewish people who were killed. The abused people.

Did anyone else know about this clue? Possibly. Whatevs. It didn't matter. The Holts were totally going to win, man!

Well, unless the Cahills won. They had almost all the same clues as we did, except for possibly this one, and they had lots of brains. Especially Amy.

Amy. At the beginning of the hunt, I hadn't cared a thing about her. For the first few clue finds, I still didn't care about her. But starting when we had teamed up in Russia, I started to like her, and become friends with her. As we made an alliance again after I saved her life in Australia, I started to like her even more. Started to have a crush on her.

Now, at this point, I really liked her. I wished that she felt the same way about me. Except, she liked Ian. I knew it. And Ian liked her. I had seen them talk to each other a few times before. I had even watched them yesterday, and after Ian saved her, I knew they would be boyfriend and girlfriend. It sickened me.

If only Amy would be my girlfriend.... I would make her happier than that dumb rich cobra (nice nickname, Dan!) would ever make her.

Anyway. I had to get back to the clue. It was probably time to tell the rest of my family about it.

"Holt family meeting! At the table now!" I yelled out.

Almost immediately, my family was sitting at the table, looking at me with eager eyes, waiting for what I was about to say.

"Okay, guys, I found a clue," I showed them the piece of paper. They handed it around the table.

"We're going to Germany?" Madison piped up. She probably thought she was a genius because she knew the Holocaust started in Germany.

"Yeah!" I nodded my head.

Dad punched the air in victory, then grabbed his cell phone and dialed the airport. He talked on the phone for a while, and then said to us, "We're on our way to Germany tomorrow! Pack your bags, guys!"

***

Dan's POV

I woke up to a pounding on the door. Who was here at seven in the morning? Seriously, if this was room service, I was going to yell at them to come back later.

I groggily dragged my butt out of bed and opened the door. "Get lost! Come back-" I screamed blindly. Then I realized who was outside standing at the door. "-Amy?"

"No. I'm an alien pretending to be Amy," Amy said sarcastically. She yawned.

"Don't be sarcastic- it's mean." I said, quoting her. She said that to me constantly.

Amy stuck out her tongue. "I can be sarcastic if I want! I slept on the floor outside this hotel because you didn't answer the door last night!"

Oh. I actually felt bad for her. Camping out on the carpet probably wouldn't be too comfy.

"Yeah, El Dweebo," Amy said, practically reading my mind.

I made an ugly face at her. We went inside the hotel room.

"So, what did Jonah do to you last night?" I would crush that conceited idiot to pieces if he hurt her.

Amy looked nervous. "Well... Um... well... !"

"Huh? Could you say that last bit again?"

Amy swallowed. Oh, this would be good. "Well... I went out on a date with Jonah last night."

"What?!?!?!?!" Oh my god, what?

Amy continued on with the freakish story. "Yeah, I went on a date with him, but it was only a ploy to see how many clues we had. He stole Grace's necklace, Dan! And then Ian came and got the necklace from Jonah and saved me."

Ian too? Sheesh, my sister was seriously a crazy love alien! I had hoped for better out of her. He was such a no good rotten snitch... nothing like Reagan. Who I... might like. A little.

"What was that, Dan? You like Reagan?" Amy said.

Dang it! I had said that out loud. "Uh... maybe...." I replied.

"That's so cute! You should ask her out!" Amy gushed.

"After what just happened to you? Yeah right! Maybe after the clue hunt is over. But I bet she doesn't even like me!" Ugh, I can't believe I was admitting this. This is not something that a normal super ninja would do. Ever.

Suddenly, this awful love conversation didn't seem so awful, because standing behind my sister was none other than... the man in black.

AN: Dun dun dun! Cliffy! I want ten reviews, and then I will update again!


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Thanks to all of my fantabulous reviewers! I'm pretty sure I got ten, which is what I asked for. I would give you virtual ice cream, but I don't know how. Actually, I'm not even quite sure what it is. So, on with the story.

Chapter Five: The Hint

Amy's POV

I looked behind me. The fearful look on Dan's face was well earned. Standing behind me was the man in black. He had a straight nose, pale skin, receding gray hair, and beady eyes that were so dark they were almost black.

The man in black gave me what might have been a smile. I wasn't sure though, it could have been a grimace too. "Relax," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Why should we trust you?" Dan blurted out.

The man in black smiled again. "What have I ever done to hurt you?" he asked.

Hmm. That was a tough question. He never really had done anything to us, he had just watched us a lot. I frowned. I saw Dan doing the same thing. This guy went right to the facts.

Seeing our faces, the man continued on. "Also, I have this, which I presume is yours, as a peace offering. I found him wandering the streets of Beijing." The man in black held up a small bag, unzipped it, and inside was... Saladin!

"Saladin!" I exclaimed. I had missed the cat so much, ever since we lost him in China.

Saladin meowed, as if to say, 'I can't believe you left me to die in the streets!'

"We're so sorry, Saladin," Dan apologized. "To make up for it, we will buy you special red snapper for dinner!"

The man in black spoke again, "Sorry to interrupt your bonding with this feline, but I have something to discuss with you two. It involves your bloodline."

Dan and I both looked up. He had to be talking about what branch we were in! We had been wondering this for, like, forever.

Randomly, a thought hit me. I didn't know the man's name. It seemed weird for him to have a name, because I had always just referred to him as the man in black. "What's your name?" I asked.

The man in black looked shocked. "Vincent Redwood," he replied.

I nodded my head. Vincent led us into the kitchen. "Have a seat," he said.

Dan sat down. I followed his example. Both of us stared at Vincent, perplexed.

"Do you know why your parents were killed?" he asked us.

Both Dan and I shook our heads. The murder had always been a mystery to us. We just assumed it was because they had a bunch of clues.

"Well, first of all, your parents were very brilliant. They were only a few clues away from discovering the secret to the thirty nine clues. But that is not the only reason that all of the branches agreed to light fire to their house, children," Vincent looked at us. His eyes glittered, like a wolf.

"What's the other reason?" Dan asked. "What do you mean, all the branches?"

Vincent looked very grim. This was going to be bad. "The people at your house during the fire were from all different branches. The Kabras- who are Lucians- were there. Alistair- an Ekaterina- was there. Cora Wizard- a Janus- was there. Even Eisenhower Holt- a Tomas- was there. What is the only thing, the only common enemy, that all of the branches have?"

Dan gulped. I knew what he was thinking. This was not good. Not good at all. "The Madrigals," Dan whispered.

"Yes, children," Vincent nodded. "The Madrigals. Your parents were Madrigals."

Dan and I shared a look. A look that said, 'what? Our parents our Madrigals?'

The wheels in my brain started turning. If our parents were Madrigals, then... "Then we're Madrigals, too," I whispered.

Vincent nodded again. "Yes, you two are Madrigals."

AN: Another cliffy! Sort of. Anyway, sorry for the short chapter. I'll try to update soon!


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Okay people, sorry for the short chapter. I wanted to leave you with a cliffy :). Okay, here's chapter seven.

Chapter Seven: Complicated

Amy's POV

Madrigals? We finally figured out our branch, and we realized we were Madrigals?! Madrigals were even worse than the Lucians!

Vincent must have seen the look an my face, because he said quickly, "No, no, it's not as bad as you think. The Madrigals are, in fact, Cahills. And they are not as bad as everyone says they are. The things you hear are rumors and lies. The other branches set the Madrigals up. The other branches hate us."

Dan noticed the 'us'. "Are you a Madrigal?" He asked, his eyes wide.

"Yes," Vincent nodded. "I will tell you the story about how the Madrigals came to be."

Vincent settled back in his chair. This would be a long story. "First of all, you guys know the four major Cahill branches?" He started. This was a rhetorical question. "Janus, Ekaterina, Lucian, Tomas. The four major Cahill branches. There was one other branch, however. Yes, the Madrigals. There were actually five original Cahills, not four. Madriga, the youngest in the family, was shunned. She was completely dismembered because she didn't have any obvious talents like the other four. Her parents disregarded her for that, and threw her out onto the streets. It's a tragic story. Today, the Cahills fear Madrigals because of a rumor that got started by a Lucian a few decades ago."

Dan's face looked a little sunk. I didn't know why, because it was good to know that the Madrigals weren't completely evil. "So we don't have any special skills?" Dan frowned.

"I never said that!" Vincent exclaimed. "Later on, it was found that Madriga did have a special skill. She was sneaky. Also, she is fair. So you guys have two skills- stealth and equality. And in my opinion, that's a way better skill than being able to have access to poisons, like those Lucians." Vincent smiled.

Dan and I both perked up. Maybe the skill wasn't, say, having mind reading abilities, but stealth was a good trait to have. We were sneaky! Not like some relatives I knew. Such as Jonah, with his fame. Alistair with his crazy outfits. Irina was sort of sneaky, but you could spot her in the crowd with her combat movements. The Kabras- however gorgeous they were (oh, Ian's eyes were so dreamy)- were not sneaky at all. They went around in designer clothes and limousines. And the Holts? Forget it. It's not hard to spot a massive, chaotic family of five, plus Arnold the pitbull.

"Sweet!" I said. It was nice to know that we belonged to a family. That we had somewhere to call home.

Where was home, anyway? I had never heard of any of the Madrigal base camps. "Where are the Madrigal headquarters?" I asked.

"There is one in the Ukraine, one in Northern Asia, one in Argentina, and one in Antarctica," Victor answered me.

Antarctica. That one surprised me, but it was cool non the less. It would be fun to go down there and study penguins, or seals.

"I love being a Madrigal!" Dan whooped. "It's so awe-"

Just then, the door burst open.

"You're a Madrigal?" Ian Kabra yelled.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Hi guys!! Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I've been pretty busy with homework and stuff. So, here's the next chapter. Hope you like it! Also, I misnamed my last chapter. This is the real chapter seven.

Chapter Seven: Explanations

Ian's POV

What in the heck was going on? Amy and Dan were Madrigals? How could that be possible? They were Cahills!

I stared at them incredulously. Amy was looking back at me with an expression that said, 'Oh my gosh, do you hate me now?' complete with her fingers drumming against her leg. She was nervous that I didn't like her now.

Truthfully, I had no idea what to think. Amy was a Madrigal. I was a Lucian. We were pretty much sworn enemies. What would happen now? I had liked her. A lot. Now, though, I had no idea what to think. This was such a shock.

Now that I thought about it, though, Amy and Dan did act like Madrigals. They were always quiet and undercover, even if they weren't evil, like the other Madrigals.

Breaking the awkward silence, a man behind the Cahills said, "Hello, Ian. I see that it is a shock to you that the Cahill children's bloodline is indeed the Madrigals."

"Yes, quite surprised, actually," I replied to the man. He looked rather strange, wearing all black, because he was old.

"Well, now you know," he said. "Oh, look at the time, I must be going. Goodbye!"

The man gave me one final look. The look told me that he knew that I liked Amy, and he was giving us some time alone. I bet he knew what we'd been through in Korea and Australia and all the other betrayals or meetings that happened.

He was a crazy stalker old man. Weird.

Amy's POV

Still, after about twenty minutes since Ian had walked through the front door of our hotel, I was frozen with shock.

After Ian had daringly stood up to Jonah, I thought that maybe we were off to a good start for a possible relationship. I had liked Ian- even with his many betrayals- for so long that after he helped me I had fell for him completely.

But now, after this confrontation, I was pretty sure that was all over. Ian probably hated my guts now. Lucians and Madrigals didn't get along and they never would.

Why did this have to happen now? My life was horrible! Why? Why? WHY?!

I didn't realize that I was breathing really loudly and my eyes looked wild. Dan looked at me and said, "Dude, calm down. It's not like the world is gonna blow up."

"Right," I told him between breaths. Ian was looking at me with concern. He probably didn't know what I was doing.

"What are you doing, Amy?" Ian asked me.

What did it look like I was doing? I was panicking. "Do you hate me now?" I asked quietly.

Ian seemed taken aback. "No, of course not! This makes things a little more complicated, but we can still work it out! I love you, Amy!"

I gasped. He loved me! "You love me?"

"Yes, I do," Ian smiled. He looked really handsome when he smiled.

Smiling back, I said, "I love you too."

Dan practically threw up when I said that. "Yuck!" he exclaimed. "My sister is a love struck bafoon!"

"Bafoon isn't a word, you moron," I told him.

"Whatevs, I'm leaving," Dan gave me a look of disgust and walked out the door. Where exactly would he go to? Hide in the elevator? I smiled at the thought of Dan hunched over in the elevator trying to use his 'ninja powers' to make himself invisible.

"So, Amy, how's it been going for these last few weeks?" Ian asked.

"It's been pretty good. We were teamed up with the Holts for a while, but yesterday we broke the alliance because we were so close to the end."

"Really?" Ian looked intrigued. His amber eyes sparkled. "How many clues do you have?"

"Thirty eight," I responded, and then immediately regretted not thinking before speaking. I was so preoccupied with his eyes that I had given away how many clues we had collected!

Thankfully, Ian didn't run out the door to go tell Natalie. He just smiled at me, and then did something really unexpected.

"That's great, Amy! I bet you'll win!" Ian told me, and then came up to me and hugged me.

I could get used to this. It felt good to hug Ian. He smelled like clove, as always, and was warm. It was a good thing Nellie was still asleep, because she would have died if she saw what happened next.

Ian kissed me, right on my lips.

Maybe I had been wrong to think he would go running off. He was happy that I had thirty eight clues.

Ian looked at me, and smiled. Then he pulled his eyebrows together. What was he thinking about?

"How do you remember all of the clues?" He asked me.

I told him the truth, unafraid that he would betray me. I knew he wouldn't, now. He loved me. "We write down the clues on a sheet of paper," I said.

"Oh. That makes sense. But aren't you afraid of losing it?"

"No. We're really good at keeping track of it," I said. To prove I knew what I was talking about, I said, "Right now, it's in my suitcase."

Ian nodded. "Can I go to the bathroom?" He asked.

"Of course," I said. "I'll just be waiting on the couch for you to come back, and maybe we can go to lunch or something."

Ian walked over to the bathroom. I sat on the couch, thinking about how wonderful he was. He was gorgeous, and smart, and sweet, and he like me, of all the people in the world! I sighed with contentment.

When Ian came out, he looked sad.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I just got a call from Natalie. She's wondering where I'm at. I told her I was at the market getting food, but I left two hours ago. She's getting suspicious. I have to leave. I'm sorry," he looked sorry.

"I understand. You can go if you have to," I didn't want Natalie to find out where Ian really was and come in with a loaded gun.

"Thanks, Amy, you're the best," Ian told me. He came over and kissed me on the cheek, and then left.

I smiled. Could this day get more perfect? I doubted it.

Realizing that I was cold, I went into the bedroom that Nellie and I shared and went into my suitcase to find a sweatshirt.

When I unzipped it, something was wrong. The clothes were all jumbled around, and I was positive that this morning I had folded them. Something was up.

While I was looking through the bag for my sweatshirt, I noticed something very important.

The sheet of clues was missing.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Okay, I updated again!! Well, a lot of the reviews don't like where I'm going with this story. No extreme flames, though, so that's okay. Well, here's the story :).

Chapter Eight: Lovesick Idiot

Dan's POV

Ian raced down the hall from the hotel room. Me, sitting down the hall, had seen him. What was he running from? Before I had time to ponder about that, I heard a scream.

"NOOOOO!" cried Amy.

I sighed. What had happened to my crazy sister this time? Did Ian break her heart again? Serves her right for trusting the snake.

Even though she deserved to have her heart broken, I raced to the room to help her. I was there within a few seconds.

"What?" I asked her. She looked bad. She was shocked, dumbfounded, angry, sad, and confused, all at the same time. Plus, her face was all red and splotchy. Probably from crying.

"I-I-Ian," Amy replied, her old stutter coming back. Dang. I thought she had ditched that back in India. "Ian, he-he st-st-stole...." She buried her face in her hands, unable to continue.

Stole?! That put me on red alert. What if he had stolen something important, like the lead to the last clue? Obviously, there was no way they had thirty eight clues, but this would get them closer, and closer was bad. "What did he steal?" I tried to sound calm.

"Oh, Dan, he stole... the-the sheet with the cl-clues!" She blurted out.

WHAT? That villainous, filthy rich cobra did WHAT? "He stole the clues?!" I practically screamed. "How could you trust him like that? He's broken your heart numerous times, stolen stuff, tried to kill you, and you somehow let him out of here with our sheet of clues? How in the world could you be so stupid?" By now, I was yelling. Screaming at the top of my lungs, actually.

Amy was sobbing. "I'm s-s-sorry," she mumbled. Then she composed herself a little. "I fell for his stinking eyes. He told me he loved me, and that he was happy at how many clues we had, which I told him when I was gazing into his eyes.... and then somehow I told him where the sheet was and he took it and now everything is all messed up!" She phrased everything into one long sentence because my sister was so distraught.

After she had told me what happened, I was still completely ticked off, but obviously yelling at her like a grouchy parent wouldn't make things any better, so I kept a cool head. "Okay," I thought aloud. "So, Ian was running pretty fast, and it's been about ten minutes, so he probably has gotten a ride back to his hotel by now. Although, we probably wouldn't stand a chance against them and their poisons...." I trailed off.

Amy spoke up in a small voice. "Maybe we could ask the Holt's for back up. I know we're not teamed up any longer, but maybe just for now. We could repay them somehow."

I smiled, thinking about how I would get to see Reagan. "Yeah, okay, that's a good idea," I said in agreement.

"Really?" My sister asked. She looked glad to have done something right. "Okay, I'll call Hamilton."

"Sounds good," I walked over to the kitchen to get a snack. I was hungry. All of this plotting makes a guy hungry!

Picking out some Oreo cookies from the pantry, my thoughts wandered. What was Reagan doing right now? Probably playing some sport with her siblings. What was Ian doing right now? Plotting for finding the last clue, I supposed. At least he didn't have the lead on the last clue. What would Irina be doing if she were here right now? Maybe loading her fingernails with poison, or muttering about how annoying Isabel Kabra was. I knew that Irina hated Isabel. Who didn't? What was Saladin doing right now? Napping on a bed, most likely. He probably needed to be fed soon.

I sat down to eat my Oreos. Dipping them in milk, like I always did. I just sat there in silence for a few minutes, still thinking, when Amy bounded into the room.

"The Holts are in!" She said joyously. "They're going to meet us here in a few minutes. Get ready to go!"

"Awesome," I said. I couldn't wait to kick some Kabra butt.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Hey guys!! Thanks so much for reviewing!! I'm sorry I don't have time to give shout outs to everyone, I have homework, but I really do appreciate your reviews!! They are what inspire me to write this story. So heres the story!!

Chapter Nine: Sneaky

Madison's POV

"Why are we helping the Cahills?" I whined. Seriously, it made no sense. We hadn't been stupid enough to fall into the stupid snake's trap. We hadn't given away every single dang clue to the enemy! So why should we help the Cahills out of their mess? My family was just wasting our time helping them when we could be looking for the last clue! This was stupid.

Oh wait, I knew. It was because of my brother and his dumb crush. The other day, he had confessed to me how he liked Amy. A lot. What did he even see in her? She was weak and boring. Plus, she couldn't even play sports! How lame is that?!

And, to make matters even worse, my twin, Reagan, who was always dependable to agree with me, had told me she liked Dan! Like, like-liked Dan! Ugh! It was disgusting! Why did it have to be that dweeb? I mean, as a friend, he's fine, but as a boyfriend? Yuck! My siblings were going psycho.

Anyway, now here we were. Standing outside of the Cahill's hotel.

"Should we knock, or just go in?" My mom asked.

"I suggest we knock," Reagan said. Always polite.

Since I was still mad at her, I went against her suggestion. I gave her a mean face, and barged into the hotel.

"We're here!" I called out. Just in case they hadn't noticed how the door had slammed against the wall.

"Oh good, you're here," Amy said, from one of the bedrooms.

"Yeah, we're here," I grumbled.

"We came as soon as we could. You're problem sounds serious," Hamilton told her. Jeesh. Suck up, much?

"Thanks, guys," Dan said. I saw Reagan smile. What was wrong with these guys? This was a dangerous mission, not a love fest!

"No problem." Reagan looked dreamy. It made me want to throw up.

Hamilton opened his mouth to say something, but I cut in before there was anymore mushy gushy Valentine's Day crap. "Okay, let's just get going," I told them. "Fast. Otherwise, they'll probably already have all the clues stirred up and stuff.

"Good idea." Amy led us through the door.

Since it was only a few blocks away, we decided to walk to the Kabra's hotel. We didn't want any taxi drivers updating the Cobras, either. That has happened numerous times, and us Holts have learned our lesson.

The entire walk, Hamilton was talking at Amy. Which wasn't bad, but he was also staring into her eyes. My brother had a serious problem. Maybe he needed a doctor.

Fortunately, Reagan was a bit more composed. She occasionally looked around, away from his face, and wasn't talking about anything gushy. Mostly, Dan and her talked about sports.

Finally, we got to the hotel. Just looking at it made my mouth drop. It was huge, for one thing, and had a bunch of fancy stuff all over, like flowers all over and vines draping down the side of the building.

On the down side, there was someone standing by the door. If the Kabra's started screaming, we would be going to jail.

Everyone of us must have noticed, because we all looked at each other. "So much for taking the door," Dan whispered.

"Now what do we do?" Amy looked worried.

"We go around the back," Dan replied.

As our group skirted around the building, trying to be unnoticed by the door man, we looked around for ways to get up the back of the building.

We hadn't seen any ways, and were starting to become disappointed, when Dad said, "Look! A ladder!"

Simultaniously, we sighed in relief. "I'll go first," I said. I walked over to the edge of the building, and started up the ladder.

I smiled. We were one step closer to whooping the rich brats and regaining our lead.

Okay, I'm sorry this was short, but I'm having writers block. Plus, I wasn't sure what else to write in Madison's POV. Also, I'm not updating until I get ten reviews! Mwahahahaha :)


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Thank you so much for the reviews!! I'm sorry I don't have time to give you a shout out (stupid math homework) but I really appreciate your thoughts on the story!! Okay, not much to say, so on with the story.**

Chapter Ten: Robbery

Amy's POV

When Dan, the Holts and I got to the top of the ladder, we weren't exactly sure how to proceed. None of us could magically slip into the hotel through the concrete rooftop.

It didn't take long, though, for Dan to find some way in. "Look, guys! The chimney!" He exclaimed.

"There is no way I am going to be able to fit through that scrawny little hole," Eisenhower stated factually. That was true. His big, brawny muscles were huge. The guy would get stuck.

I tried to hide a giggle at the thought of Eisenhower stuck in a chimney, saying, "Dan! This was your idea, you idiot! Now, I'm stuck! How in the heck am I supposed to get out of this thing?"

Holding back my smile didn't work, and a small chuckle escaped through my lips. Everyone looked at me, like, 'what's funny?' but I just shook my head. Apparently, they weren't interested enough in what I was thinking to ask me about it, because the all just looked away.

"Eisenhower's right, Dan," I said. "The adults won't be able to fit." Even though Mary Todd wasn't quite as buff as Daddy Holt, she was getting there. She was more in shape than any of the kids.

"Oh," Dan replied glumly. "Darn."

Mary Todd sighed. "There's no other way in," She told us. "Maybe your Daddy and I could wait out here while you get the clues. I'm not very sneaky, anyways." She looked at Eisenhower for his opinion.

Eisenhower nodded. "That could work," he said. "You guys punch them for me, 'kay?"

I rolled my eyes. The whole point of sneaking in was to try and have them _not_ see us, because if it came down to a fight, they'd have their fancy dart guns, and we'd be dead meat. "There probably won't be any punching involved," I told him.

"Aww, I wanted those rich brats to get black eyes!" Eisenhower complained.

Dan laughed. "Let's go," he said. "I want our clues back!"

Us kids walked over to the chimney. "Who's going first?" I asked.

"I will!" Dan volunteered immediately. This hunt was still a game for him, just like it had been from day one.

The chimney was about three feet by three feet, so Dan had no trouble getting in. He used his arms and legs to keep from free falling down, and climbed through the square tube.

Then, he started coughing. "It sure is sooty in here," he told us, in between coughs. Oh no. His asthma was acting up. That wasn't good.

Thankfully, though, after about five minutes, Dan yelled, "Okay, I'm out, now you guys start coming down. It's easy, just make sure not to let go of the sides of the chimney."

Madison went next. Then Reagan, Hamilton, and finally, me. I was a little nervous. I wasn't super strong, and I wasn't sure how easy it would be to keep a good hold on the walls.

As I stepped in, I knew this chimney was not meant for me. First of all, my legs were long, and had to bend in unnatural ways to keep hold. Also, the walls were filled with soot, and so they were really slippery. I guess I would just go slow.

For about two minutes of descending, I was fine. But by then, my muscles were tired, and I had to sneeze. Soot had gone up my nose, and tickled my throat. "Ah... ah... achoo!" I sneezed. That involuntary motion made my arms lose traction, somehow, and now I was free falling towards the fireplace.

"Ahhh!" I screamed. Dropping rapidly down to the fireplace would result in a big crash. And a big crash would result in some major broken bones, if not death. That made me more scared.

And then, I dropped onto something, but I didn't feel too much pain, other than having the wind knocked out of me, and my back had cracked.

Turning around, I saw that Hamilton had caught me. I was in his debt, again. "Thank you," I told him.

"You're welcome. It's a good thing you didn't hit the concrete, otherwise we would have been in a lot of trouble." He smiled at me.

I smiled back. Hamilton was so nice.

Putting me on the ground, he said, "Now let's go steal that sheet from right under the snake's noses."

***

After we had made our way over to the Kabra's hotel, we realized there was a problem.

"Um, guys?" Reagan said.

"What?" Dan replied quickly.

"The only way into the hotel is through the front door." Reagan looked worried. "What should we do?"

Dan pondered this for a moment. "I have a plan," he said, and grinned.

"And what is this plan?" I asked him, because his plans were not always doable. Once, he told me we should travel to China, get super ninja training, and defeat all the terrorists.

"Prank call." Dan's smile grew more pronounced. He held out our cell phone.

"I'll do it," Madison offered. "I have a good one."

Under star-six-seven, Madison called Natalie. Since this would be funny, she put the phone on speaker, and dialed.

After three rings, Natalie answered. "Hello?" She said in her silky british accent.

"Hello," Madison answered in a man's voice. "This is Taylor Lautner. I heard of you when I was visiting London for a movie premiere. I was just wondering, do you want to come to lunch with me?"

On the other end, Natalie screamed, and I mean screamed. All of us flinched. Then, her breathing started to get rapid, like she was hyperventilating. All of us were doubling over in laughter. I never new Natalie was this obsessed with anyone but herself!

Natalie cleared her throat. "Um, sure," She said in a high pitched, girly voice. "Where are we going?"

Madison used her man voice again. "To the Italian restaurant down the block from the baseball field."

"Oh, I love that one!" Natalie exclaimed. "I'll see you there in five minutes!"

"Okay, bye," Madison said, and then hung up.

The minute the phone was disconnected, we all started howling with laughter. "Did you hear her?" Dan asked. "She sounded like she was about to explode!"

"Heck, yeah she did!" Hamilton agreed.

"Shh, we have to be quiet! The movie star lover will hear us!" Reagan exclaimed in a whisper.

We all shut up quickly. If she heard us, our entire plan would fall through.

For a few minutes, we sat down the hall in the corner from the Karba's hotel room.

Suddenly, Natalie burst out the door. She was wearing a short violet dress, gray suede stilettos, and her hair was curled. It looked a little funny, because she was only about four feet and nine inches tall, so her "sophisticated" look was really out of place.

She sprinted down the hall, and into the elevator. Once she was out of sight, we snuck into the hotel. Dan had decided it would be funnier if Ian was in there when we stole the clues, even if it would be a lot harder to steal them.

Since Madison was good with locks, she opened the door. It swung open silently, but, fortunately for us, we heard the shower running. Ian must be cleaning up. That was good; we didn't have to be as sneaky, even if Dan and I were naturals. One reason that it was good to be a Madrigal, even if everyone else hated you.

As I looked around the room, I was stunned. It was huge! There were six doorways leading off of the giant main space, which held the dining area, living room, and a grand piano. There was a big chandelier glittering over the dining table.

"This place is huge! It could take forever to find that paper!" Dan whispered.

"I know! Seriously, these people are too rich for their own good," Hamilton said.

"Shh!" I told them. "Just spread out and look! Dan, you go that way." I pointed to the first room. "Reagan, you go that way. Hamilton, go in there. Madison, in the fourth room. I'll look in that room, and then in this main space. Come find me if you find the paper."

"Okay," everyone told me, and then spread out. I headed into the fifth room.

When I got in there, I looked around. It was a bedroom. It looked like Ian's bedroom, because there was a suitcase on the floor with loafers next to it. I couldn't imagine Natalie wearing those.

This happened to be the room with the safe, and it was open. Nothing was in it.

I kept looking. Maybe it was in his suitcase. I shuffled through it, finding nothing but clothing and fancy technology.

After about a minute, though, I found something. It felt sort of like paper. I pulled it out, and saw it was a book, that I was holding upside down.

I turned it right side up, and was shocked. In cursive, across the front, it said 'diary' in black letters.

Curious to what secrets might be inside it, I opened the book. Flipping to a random page, I started reading. It read,

_May fifteenth---_

_ Today, Natalie and I jetted off to Madagascar, trying to find a clue. It took forever, which gave me a long time to think. I realized something. There is a girl that I really like. Since there is no lock on this diary, I will only say her initials. They are A.C. She is gorgeous, smart, and funny. I have liked her for a long time, and I think I am going to ask her out eventually. The only thing is, I don't know if she likes me back. She's been hanging around with this one guy, lately, and seems to like him a lot. They might be just friends, but I don't know for sure. I hope she likes me back. _

_ ~Ian Kabra_

I gasped. A.C. Those were my initials! Could Ian like me? Was it possible? Wow. I bet it was me. I felt flattered that Ian Kabra liked someone like me.

Hamilton came running into the room, then, and cut off my train of thought. I quickly shoved the diary back into Ian's suitcase. "I found the sheet! I found the sheet!" He exclaimed.

"Good job Hamilton! You're a life saver!" I hugged him. He smiled. "Let's get the others."

Hamilton nodded. "Guys," he said, "I found the clues."

With a pitter patter of feet, everyone was back in the room.

"Good," Dan said, "Because I think Ian's done showering."

All of us listened for a minute, and found that Dan was right. The water had stopped running.

"We'd better hurry," I said, and started walking to the door. Everyone followed.

Luckily, we made it out the door before Ian could find out we were inside. As we made our way down to the hotel lobby, faster than usual, we had smug little grins on our faces. We had just stolen the paper from right under the dimwit's nose.

Now, we had to get back to the hunt.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Thank you to the people who reviewed! I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I'm pretty proud of it myself--- not to brag or anything, it was just probably the most action-y chapter in the book. Okay, not much to say, so on with the chapter!

Chapter 11: Unexpected

Amy's POV

We were back at Dan and I's hotel room, for a celebration of our victorious burglary. We had ordered an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen, and a pizza had just been delivered.

"This pizza is so good...." crooned Dan. He was a big pizza fan. The first time he had tried pizza in his life, he had gotten up and done a little dance because he loved it so much.

"Yeah, it is," Reagan agreed. She was on her third piece. I think Madison was on her fourth. Apparently, they were very hungry. The pizza had only been here for five minutes.

I looked over at Hamilton, to see if he liked the pizza. He looked thoughtful, with a dazed expression on his face. Then, he looked at me. "Amy, will you come with me for a second? I have a question," he asked.

"Oh no," I heard Madison mutter quietly. She shook her head; I wasn't sure why.

"Sure," I told Hamilton. What did he want?

Hamilton led me into my bedroom, and sat on the bed. I followed his example, and kept my feet dangling off the end.

"That was some stunt, huh?" He asked me.

"Yeah, it sure was." Did Hamilton just want to keep gloating? I mean, it was an awesome trick, but we'd already discussed how cool we were for like twenty minutes.

"Well, I was thinking, while I was there...." Hamilton stopped talking. He was blushing. Why in the world was he blushing? Hamilton never got embarrassed.

"What were you thinking about?" I egged him on.

"Amy, I really like you," He said, blushing beet red.

"I like you to, Ham. You're a great friend."

"That's not what I mean," he told me, his face impossibly even redder.

"What do you mean?" I asked him. Did he want another alliance? Did he need help with something? In the back of my brain, I knew those answers weren't correct, but I wasn't sure why.

Suddenly, Hamilton started moving toward me. He leaned in, and before I thoroughly comprehended what was happening... he kissed me.

AN: Cliffy! The next chapter will be longer, I promise. But, since it's going to be dramatic (in my opinion) I need fifteen reviews before I post it! I know, I'm cruel, but I'm hoping to get to at least a hundred reviews within the next few chapters. So review or Jonah will come back and ask to marry Amy! Also, for all you Ian/Amy lovers, the next chapter will be in Ian's POV. That's all I'm going to tell you.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Here is the first chapter from Ian's POV! You'll finally get to see what Ian is thinking. Thank you reviewers!! I love it when you guys review, you know that, right? Keep on reviewing! Anyway, on with the story. Also, this takes place when chapter eleven was happening.**

Chapter Twelve: Trespasser

Ian's POV

When the steaming shower stopped, I felt a dizzying rush of cold air. As I stepped out on the rug, I started shivering.

In the middle of drying off and getting dressed, there was a muffled whispering, and the quiet sound of the door shutting. A faint patter of feet followed; the sound got dimmer and dimmer until it faded.

This sound was one I knew well. The sound of fleeing. Natalie and I had heard it many times before.

Who had been in the room? Probably one of the opponents.... One of the opponents! Clearly, the hot water had made my head a little fuzzy.

I raced into my room, to grab my shoes. I had to get after whoever had been in here, and find what they had taken, if they had taken anything.

While I ruffled through my suitcase, looking for clean socks, something struck me as wrong. Everything inside of the suitcase was messy, not folded, how I liked it. It looked as if someone had been rifling through it.

Also, I noticed something worse. My diary was at the top of the suitcase. Oh no. What if someone had read it?

Oh, this was bad. Very bad. If they had read my diary, it was most likely they had found out about my love, and how complicated it was. What if my parents had seen? How embarrassing!

Amy Cahill. The girl I loved. The girl I had betrayed, hurt (physically and emotionally), and almost killed. I regretted those times. Afterwards, they made me feel like a horrible person. But when Natalie threatened me and put her dart gun at my neck, what else could I do but keep up my villianous behavior?

Surely, Amy hated me right now. She probably liked someone else, and not me. Someone who hadn't broken her heart, or stolen her property. Maybe even someone else in the race... like Hamilton.

Jealousy crashed over me in a wave. Suddenly, I was full of anger. I had forgotten all about the person, or people, who had came into my apartment. All that was on my mind was that I had to apologize to Amy before it was too late. Before Hamilton stole her away from me.

Who cared what my family thought? I loved Amy more than I loved them! Isabel and Vikram barely even talked to me. I hadn't seen them in person for almost a year. They never told me they loved me. They yelled at me more than praised me.

Natalie was tied, I suppose. Yes, she got angry and used her wretched dart gun, but she could be caring, too--- to me, at least. We'd had a few brother/sister moments.

And thinking of Natalie... where was she? "Natalie!" I called out.

There was no answer.

I wasn't too worried. She was probably just out shopping. I dialed her cell phone number.

After a few rings, she answered. "Hello?" She asked in her silky voice.

"Natalie? Where are you?" I demanded.

"Oh, it's you. I'm waiting for Taylor Lautner to show up for lunch! Don't bother me!" Natalie was irritated.

Taylor Lautner? Yeah right. He was, like, eighteen, and she was thirteen. I highly doubted he would ask Natalie to lunch. Even if our family was well known.

"Okay then, have fun with that. Bye," I told her. Didn't want to ruin her hopes and dreams.

Now that that mystery was solved, I put on my shoes. I was going to see Amy, and tell her the truth.

***

I took a deep breath. I had went over what I would say on my ride to this hotel, and I had it all figured out. _Amy, I have a confession. _I would say._ I am in love with you. I know you might not believe me, but it's true. Every time I hurt you, betrayed you, and saw you staring back at me in pain, it cut a hole in my heart. Every time, I wanted to hug you and tell you that I was so sorry, but I couldn't. Natalie would murder me. My family would disown me. Natalie puts a dart gun to my neck when I tell her I don't want to hurt you again, and then what am I supposed to do? I do whatever nasty thing I am forced to do. But now, after seeing Hamilton fall for you, I realized that puting you through pain isn't worth it. I would rather face my family than lose you. I love you, Amy._

That was what I would say. Taking another deep breath, I knocked on the door.

Dan answered. "What do you want, Cobra?"

"Where's Amy?" I looked around, hoping to see her.

"In her bedroom. Down the hall." For some weird reason, Dan smirked at me.

I didn't even bother asking him about it. I walked into the bedroom Dan had pointed to, and what I saw made me want to burst into tears.

Amy was kissing Hamilton.

**AN: So, how did you like it? Did you like Ian's POV? I'll update as soon as possible! Please review, tell me if you like it!**


	13. Chapter 13

AN: Okay, normally I would have waited for more people's opinion on the last chapter, but I was really excited to put this one up. So, here's chapter thirteen!!

Chapter Thirteen: Hurt

Amy's POV

I broke away from the kiss almost immediately. However nice Hamilton was, and a good friend, I didn't really think of him that way. Hamilton was like a best friend, in a brother-y was.

I was going to start talking to Hamilton about his feelings, when a flash of color caught my eye.

Standing behind me, with a pained expression on his face, was none other than Ian Kabra.

My mouth opened to explain what had just happened, but Ian started talking first. "So, you and Hamilton, huh?" he said in a flat tone, but it was wavering slightly, as if it was hard to keep it that way.

"Well---" I started, but Ian cut me off. Now, emotion colored his tone.

"Amy, I came here because I had something to tell you," he told me. "I came here because I wanted to tell you that I love you. I know you might not believe it, but it's true. I think about you every day. I wish that I had never hurt you, or betrayed you. But Amy, Natalie made me! She put a dart gun against my throat and threatened to hurt me! Or hurt you. I figured, at least if I have to hurt you, I won't make it fatal. Not like Natalie would. I'm sorry for what I've done, and now I've decided I don't care what my family thinks. I don't care if they threaten me. I can stand up for myself. Losing you, however, was something I couldn't deal with. But I guess you're already taken."

Ian's forehead was scrunched up and his mouth was twisted into a frown. I felt so awful that I had been the one to put that pained expression on his face.

Before I could speak, Ian said, "Goodbye, Amy." Then, he got up, and walked out the door.

Hamilton spoke up, "Well, that was quite the show." he chuckled a little.

Without meaning to, a few tears leaked down my face. I could tell, this hadn't been a show. When Ian had taken the clues, he hadn't seemed quite as... sincere. But now, I could tell. He hadn't been acting. Ian was in real pain, all because of Hamilton. If he hadn't kissed me, Ian wouldn't feel so bad, and everything would have worked out fine.

I hadn't had much time to think about it, but I did love Ian back. No matter what he had done, I still loved him. Maybe it was because, deep down, I knew he loved me too.

When we were in Korea, that one moment of doubt flickering across Ian's face. That one slip of his show told me his true feelings. Now that I thought about it, while he was over before, after he had found out I was a Madrigal, there were a few slip ups, too. Sometimes, he would look away, or a knew expression would show in his eyes.

"Amy?" Hamilton interrupted my train of thought. "Are you all right?"

Was I alright? What did it look like? Suddenly, I was furious at Hamilton, for producing this disaster. "No, I'm not. Hamilton, if you hadn't kissed me, I wouldn't be in this situation! Besides, I don't think of you like that! You're a good friend, but I don't love you. Now, I'm not sure what you are. You just messed up my love life, you idiot!" I practically screamed at him. I never knew I was so temperamental.

Now Hamilton was angry. "Well, excuse me for thinking you loved me back! You hugged me and congratulated me and I'm sorry for getting the wrong idea!"

"I'm sorry too! Now, I might not ever get Ian back!"

"Whatever. I'm leaving. Bye, Amy." And then, Hamilton left me.

"Hamilton, wait..." I mumbled, but I was too late. The door had already slammed shut. Even if I didn't love him, Hamilton was still one of my good friends, and I didn't want to lose that friendship.

How could I have been so stupid? Now, both my love and my close friend had left me. Now, I was almost completely alone. The only person I had left was Dan. My mother, father, Grace, Irina, and now Hamilton and Ian. How could that have happened? I already missed them. Ian, especially. I wish I had told him I loved him before that dreaded kiss with Hamilton.

Not knowing what to do next, I laid down on the bed and cried.

AN: Did you like it? I hope so!! You know what to do now! Review!!


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Okay, I know I haven't updated in a long time. But I was really busy, with dance and homework, and I had a ton of piano practice to do, and... yes, I had writers block. Will you forgive me? Please? Anyway, moving on. I love you all for reviewing!! Anyway, apparently I am not really in character, so I'll try to be better about that without changing the story completely. Also, please review and give me any ideas that you have!!

Chapter 14: Meeting Kaitlin

Hamilton's POV

"Ugh!" I kicked a rock, and it flew down the sidewalk, accidentally hitting a small Yorkshire Terrier.

I trudged along the cement path, heading over to an out of the way park, where I could play soccer, to let out all of my anger.

How could I have been such an idiot? Why didn't I wait for Amy to make the first move? Then I wouldn't have looked like a fool, or gotten my heart broken, because I didn't know that she didn't love me back! My brow crinkled, and my mouth turned down. People looked at me funny, because I looked so angry, but I didn't care. Let them think what they want about me.

This rate of walking wasn't fast enough for me. I wanted to get to the park, now.

Breaking out into a sprint brought even more glances, but I ignored them. They were pointless. Those people had no idea what had just happened to me.

After a few minutes of running, I arrived at the wide open field. It was perfect; nestled between two small hills, with trees blocking the people who might watch me, and two huge goals, on either end of the field.

Determined, I set out to the far end of the field. Then, I ran, and kicked the ball into the net. I kept repeating the drill. This had been a good idea, because already I felt better. It was nice to play and focus only on the ball. To clear my mind of other more... touchy matters.

Someone had been watching me. "Hey," a girl said from behind me. "You're good."

"Thanks," I told her automatically.

"It would be good practice for me to go against someone like you. Want to play?" She asked.

I turned around, stunned. "Like, a game?"

"Yeah. That's the idea. A full out game, no going easy on me."

Well, I hadn't planned to go easy on her, I never went easy on anyone! But why would she want to play me? This girl had to know she was going to be creamed. Seriously! She was medium height, but shorter than my five foot seven. She was about five foot four. Other than her medium height, she was rather small. No prominent muscle. Small features. A slim body. "Sure," I said. "Bring it on." I would defeat her within the first minute.

The girl smiled happily. "Cool. First to ten." She backpedalled to her end of the field.

I started. When my foot connected with the ball, it sailed through the air. The girl hit it off of her head, and started to dribble.

She was fast! She must have moved almost as quickly as I did. Before I knew it, she was down on my end. Luckily, I intervened before she could make a goal. She was good, though. A worthy opponent.

The game continued. After about ten minutes, the score was tied, two to two. Both of us were tired and hot.

After about twenty minutes though, the girl whose name I didn't know sank to the ground. "I'm exhausted," she called out. "Can we stop?"

"Sure, I'm tired to," I answered. Actually, I was about to faint if I didn't stop. Thankfully, I didn't. That would be embarrassing. The score had ended at seven to six, in my favor. I had just scored a goal before she had stopped.

It had surprised me she had gotten to six. I had been working my guts out, and when I do that, I usually win by a long shot. This girl who almost beat me was intriguing. Who was she?

Walking up to her, I saw her more closely. She had brown hair, with highlights, and big hazel eyes. "What's your name?" I asked.

"Kaitlin," she got out between pants. "What's yours?"

I smiled. "Hamilton."

"Well, it was good to play against you, Hamilton. You're pretty good."

"You too," I told her honestly.

"Thanks." Kaitlin let out a dazzling smile. "Do you think you'd like to play again tomorrow?"

"Sure." I was shocked. No one had ever wanted to play against me again, because they had all gotten whooped. This was a first.

"Okay, great. Well, I have to go, my mom's waiting for me. See you tomorrow!" And with that, Kaitlin ran off.

"Whoa," I murmured. That was amazing. I had gotten in a good round of soccer, hadn't had Amy even cross my mind for a long time, and met a nice, pretty, and athletic girl! And, I had made friends with her. Kaitlin was truly amazing.

Even after my heartbreak, today had turned out pretty nicely.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: I updated pretty fast!! Okay, well, not much to say here, but I'm going to start giving shout outs to reviewers. Maybe then I will get more reviews :). Sorry for all of you who have reviewed way at the beginning, but I don't have that much time. I still love you for reviewing though! Anyways.

Vampire-Historian-Crazy-Teen3: I'm glad you liked it! Don't worry, I'm still doing Amy/Ian, I just wanted to get a little farther into the Hammer's character. This chapter isn't really Ian/Amy, more like, Amy getting more determined and less mopey. Within the next chapters, there will be Ian/Amy!!

lalagirl: Yeah, Ian was a jerk in chapter eight. Most definitely. Keep reading, it gets better--- in my opinion.

Joelle8: I agree. Ian/Amy are meant for eachother!!

Little Lobster: Yeah, Kaitlin is going to be really nice. And no, sadly, Kaitlin is not me. I wish I was that good at soccer.... (sigh)

amyfan97: thanks for the compliment!! As for your question, you'll find out :).

And now, on with the story!! Also, I hope this is more fits Amy's character... feel free to give me suggestions on how to make it better. Now, for real, on with the story!

Chapter Fifteen: Talking with Reagan

Amy's POV

"Amy? Amy, come out of your room! Someone wants to talk to you!" Dan called out.

"Leave me alone, Dan," I moaned. Didn't he understand I needed to be alone? Was he really that much of a dweeb to not realize that I had just broken Ian Kabra's heart? That he had come in and saw me kissing Hamilton just as he was about to confess his love to me? Was Dan truly that heartless? I knew the answer. Yes.

"She really wants to talk to you!" Dan insisted.

"She?" I asked. "Who is she?"

"Reagan," Reagan answered.

Reagan? Why would Reagan want to talk to me? Intrigued, I wandered out of the room, partially forgetting my depressing thoughts for a moment.

"Oh good, you came," Reagan said. "I was wondering if you would come out to lunch with me. I have some stuff to talk to you about."

Reagan had on a look that said, 'I don't want to discuss this here.' This must be really interesting. "Okay," I told her. "Where do you want to go?"

Reagan's face lit up. "How 'bout that place down by the park? That serves hamburgers?"

Nodding, I said, "Sure. That place is good."

"Great. Let's go."

"Be back before dinner!" Nellie ordered. That was the first thing she had said to me in what felt like forever. Of course, I hadn't really been out of my room very much since the... incident with Ian and Hamilton.

"Okay!" I called back, and then followed Reagan down the hallway of our hotel.

"So," said Reagan. "I have some stuff to talk about with you."

"What?" I was curious, and still baffled about why Reagan would rather talk to me than to Madison.

"I just wanted to talk about what happened with you and Hamilton and Ian... and about Dan."

The subject hit my mind like a ton of bricks. After I had successfully avoided it for at least five minutes, here it was again. My face turned down. "What about it?"

We reached the restaurant. "How about I tell you when we sit down?" Reagan suggested.

"Okay."

A hostess took us to our seats almost immediately, and then asked for our drink orders. I got a water, and Reagan got a Mountain Dew.

Reagan started talking. "I heard you've been beating yourself up--- mentally--- about the whole incident. I have some news that might make you feel a little better."

"What?" My fingers were drumming on my leg in anticipation.

"Yesterday, Hamilton met a girl, her name is Kaitlin. He told me he likes her, a lot. He's not sad about you loving Ian anymore. And from what I've heard, Kaitlin is meant for him. She's athletic, strong, fun, pretty, and she stands up for herself. I hope that makes you feel a little better, knowing Hamilton isn't suffering. I know you two are close friends. I bet you still will be, when the race is over."

A sigh of relief came from my mouth. It was good to know that Hamilton had found someone that he could be with. Kaitlin was perfect for him. They were suited for each other in every way.

"Also," Reagan interrupted my happy thoughts. "I was going to say, I could probably help you get Ian back, if you help me with something. You have to promise to help me, though."

I was overjoyed. Hamilton would be okay, because he had a new girl, and now Reagan said she would help me with Ian! I didn't care about the price, I would do anything. I knew from working with Reagan for months that she had amazing ideas, and creative plans.

"I'll do anything if you'll help me," I told her honestly.

"Great. Well, I was thinking that we should call Ian first... you know, just to tell him you're sorry. It probably won't work, but it might make you feel better." Reagan smiled sympathetically. She knew what I was going through, somehow.

I nodded, and grabbed the flip phone that Dan and I shared from my pocket, and ran through the address book until I found Ian's number.

The phone rang, but no one answered. Ian's answering machine went off. "Hello, you've reached Ian Kabra's cell phone. Either I'm not here or I don't want to talk to you, so just leave a message if you deem it necessary." Ian's silky British voice said.

My eyebrows crinkled. Hearing his voice made me sad. It was the same voice that had sounded so broken two days ago....

The beep had went, I realized, so I started my message. "Ian, I'm so sorry. Seeing that must have broke your heart. Like what happened to me in Korea. But I can explain," I said desperately. "Hamilton came to talk to me, and I thought it was about the hunt for the Thirty Nine Clues, but it turned out---" The machine cut me off.

"Call again and finish your message," Reagan instructed.

I hit redial, but the answering machine never came. The phone just kept ringing and ringing. Ian had blocked me from calling him, with some sort of fancy, expensive technology.

Great. Now I wouldn't get to finish the message, which was utterly worthless without the explanation. If I wanted to apologize now, I would have to track him down and talk to Ian in person, which would be very difficult.

"Can I ask you something?" Reagan asked, tentatively.

"What?" I put my hand to my forehead. My plan had failed.

"Do you think--- do you think Dan likes me?" Reagan blushed.

That was unexpected. From how Reagan was acting, it seemed that she liked my brother. I wouldn't have guessed that she would have much of a love life, but I suppose she was a little different from Madison in that way. In fact, I had seen her look at Dan every so often... hmm. Interesting.

It was sort of cute, in a weird way. I wasn't sure if Dan liked Reagan, though.

"I don't know," I told her. "Sorry."

"Oh, it's okay," she told me. Then, "Oh, sorry, I have to leave. I said that I would play football with Ham and Madison at four."

"Okay," I said, and she left.

As I made my way back to the hotel that was starting to feel like home, I wondered if I would ever see Ian again. Love was so complicated.

AN: Did you think that was okay? Sorry if you thought it was boring, it was mostly a filler to get Amy happier again. Also, another person reviewed, so here's another shoutout:

psychoticbookgirl: I was wondering if anyone would say anything about the Yorkie! I mostly put that in there to show that Hamilton wasn't all that compassionate. I'm not sure I agree with you about Hamilton's character, but I'm glad you put in your thoughts. And I'm glad that you like Kaitlin :).

Okay, well, that's it. Please review!! It seems that I got more reviews when I asked you to review. Even when I don't put that in there, still review! I don't care if you just tell me if you liked it or not, or your favorite part, although I like it when people give me ideas. That's all! Thanks for reading!


	16. Chapter 16

AN: Wow, it feels like it's been a long time since I updated. Although, it hasn't, really. So, yeah. Well, I'm going to do shout outs at the end because you probably don't want to read a super long authors note. On with the story!

Chapter 16: Necklace

Amy's POV

"Ian, if you're listening..." I trailed off. "Please answer the phone. I want to talk to you. I have to explain myself! Just please answer. It wasn't my fault that---" beep. The message ended.

Why couldn't Ian answer the phone, for just one minute? Did he not care how horribly, gut wrenchingly sorry I was? I felt so terrible. I was an idiot.

Suddenly, my phone (actually it was mine and Dan's) vibrated. There was a text message, from Natalie Kabra. She was probably rubbing it in my face about how I wouldn't get to be with her brother, ever.

Picking the phone up, it said, 'You broke Ian's heart. He's in his room sobbing. It's PATHETIC. A Lucian shouldn't be acting like this! FIX IT! We're in Seoul.'

Fix it. The message was so... Natalie. I may have laughed if my heart wasn't so broken.

However, it did contain some valuable information. He was in Seoul... why? Did he choose there because he wanted to remember how broken I had been after he left me? But what would that do? To visit Bae Oh? That was doubtful. Maybe it was just random choice. Or maybe Natalie picked it.

The location didn't matter, though. What did matter was that if I knew Ian's location, I could find him, and tell him in person how deeply sorry I was.

There was only one problem; I didn't have the money. Dan and I had used every last penny in the race for the past year, and had nothing to spare. It was hard pressed enough to stay in this hotel. The only way I could ever get a plane ticket would be if I... sold Grace's necklace.

Jade diamonds leading to a jade dragon. It was my favorite thing in the world, aside from Dan, Saladin, and Nellie. Was I willing to sell it?

I knew the answer. Yes. If it gave me the chance to find Ian, and hopefully win his heart, it would be worth it.

Without thinking, I raced down towards the street, because there was a store that bought and sold fine jewelry about a block from the hotel.

By the time I got there, I felt like I would fall over. After sprinting down ten floors of stairs, and dodging a big crowd of people, my legs were like jello.

Still panting, I made my way into the store.

"Hello. What can I do for you?" Asked the man at the front desk. He had on a silk suit and tie. The jewelry here must have been very pricy.

"I'd like to--- to sell this piece," I got out between breaths.

The man took the necklace between his hands. "Ah, jade. Nicely crafted. From a while back, it looks like. Very elegant. I will give you... three thousand dollars."

I gasped. Three thousand dollars? That could buy us all a ticket to Seoul, and probably cover the rest of the hunt, if we budgeted wisely.

"Deal," I told him.

He gave me a check, and I gave him the necklace. "Goodbye," I whispered to it. I knew it must have sounded weird to that man, talking to a piece of jewelry, but I didn't care. Even if it was worth a large sum, it felt like a piece of my heart was being ripped out, and like I was giving away part of Grace.

I didn't look back when I ran through the door, and to the hotel.

After running back to the room, I told Nellie and Dan what I had done, and that we were going to Seoul.

"No," Dan told me.

"What no?" I asked.

"No. I don't want to go. I want to stay here. I'm sick of being in the middle of you're love life. I'll stay with Hamilton," Dan told me.

"Will he let you?" I questioned. They were close, but that close? I wasn't sure.

"Yes." Dan was certain.

Nellie butted into the conversation. "I'll come with you," She told me. "I liked the sushi there, anyways."

"Then it's settled. Can you call the airlines?" My fingers tapped impatiently.

Without saying anything, Nellie got up and dialed the number, and went into her bedroom.

A few minutes later, she came out, and said, "We're in. Tomorrow afternoon. Get packing."

AN: This chapter was a filler. And it seemed kind of off to me... I'm getting a little bored with the story. I'm starting a new one soon, so in the next two or three chapters, this one will be done. Okay, now for shout outs!

7Cerberus7: I'm sorry for not putting Ian in! He will be in the next chapter, I promise.

Vampire-Historian-Crazy-Teen3: Yes, she is more determined! In the next chapter, her plan goes into action :).

iciclegirl235: thanks, I'm glad you like the twist. I'm kind of bored of Amy always being perfect and Ian always messing up, so I made the story a little different.

: thanks! Glad you like it!

.mae (did I spell that right? I hope so): Thanks so much!!

Amyfan97: yeah, same with me. I like Kaitlin too!! That's why I made her :).

Little Lobster: Yes, I got a little sloppy last chapter. I was writing pretty fast. And Dan might like Reagan... it'll come up in the next few chapters.

lalagirl97: Thanks!!

Ratravellar: She did go pretty fast, but I had to get the story moving. Even I was getting bored at the slow rate it was going.

Zach: I will!!

zammie and ian and amy fan: I'll try to make it more happy. Amy's more determined now, so things will get moving.

Ok, done with shout outs. Whew! That took a while. Anyway, review!!


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Okay, for any of you who were on this at the exact moment when I posted this, and saw the 'add in later' under author's note, I'm sorry. I forgot to add it in. I did this yesterday and wasn't sure to put in. Anyway, on with the story!**

Chapter 17: Chasing Dreams

Amy's POV (again)

_What am I thinking?_ I asked myself. My actions had been so sudden. Nothing was thought through. _I'm not,_ I answered, though it had been a rhetorical question.

Well, those were the effects of first love. They were so strong, and sudden. Unlike anything I had ever experienced, except for in Korea, but that was a different situation. I was more timid back then. After being with the Holts for so long, most of my stuttering and cowardly behavior had gone away.

It was too late to regret anything now. Nellie and I were on a plane to Korea. We weren't in the most comfortable seats--- we were in row forty eight of forty nine, because we had decided to keep money for future traveling--- but I didn't care. Dan and I were used to being uncomfortable at this point. During one mission for a clue, we had slept in the forest for two nights, before finding a small pup tent that we managed to squeeze into. The Holts had offered us into their tent, but Eisenhower snored so bad, it was better just to sleep on the ground (Nellie, however, had accepted. That girl could sleep through anything).

I cracked a small smile. Those were the days. Our little family had been so carefree. Now, with the tension between Ian and Hamilton and me, things had drastically changed. Dan didn't talk to me as much. Hamilton ignored me completely. The only person who treated me no different was Madison, mostly because she had never talked to me before, other than for making plans to find clues, and she didn't talk to me now.

For the rest of the flight, Nellie and I were both silent, except for the occasional periods of time when Nellie would get absorbed into her punk music she was listening to and she started to sing along to the strange tune.

Eventually, the plane landed, and we had gotten our bags, and we checked into the hotel. The whole time, even with my watchful (and hopeful) eyes, there was no sign of Ian.

Once Nellie and I were done unpacking, I decided to start searching for him. "Nellie, I'm gonna look for Ian. I'll be back before dinner," I told her. It wasn't necessary to ask her for permission.

She just nodded her head in reply. Her earbuds were in, and she was hardly paying attention to me.

Stepping out the door, I knew where I would go.

The only place I thought he might possibly be; the ruins of the cave. I wasn't sure why I thought he'd be there, but I had a gut feeling. And my gut tended to be right most of the time. _Most_ of the time.

It was a good thing I had worn tennis shoes, because it was an uphill hike towards the cave. Even though the hotel was relatively close to the path, I was so tired that about halfway up the steep hike I had to take a break.

The fact that so many memories were made here didn't help. Constantly, my mind was racked with Ian. Ian, racing me to the rock. Ian, staring into my eyes, and me staring back, him being so lovely. Ian, betraying me. Ian, with that one look of doubt in his eyes. Ian, leaving me for dead.

I sat there, thinking. I sat so long, I hadn't even noticed the time that had been going by. When I looked at my watch, it told me that it was already five o' clock, and I had left at three. I had promised to be back for dinner... I better get going. Dinner was usually at about seven.

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, surprised, I saw a boy with black hair, cinnamon skin, and amber eyes. He smelled like clove. "Ian..." I said.

"Amy," he said tersely. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," I replied in a daze.

Ian didn't say anything for a moment. Then, "You don't have your necklace."

"I had to sell it," I told him sadly. "It was the only way I could get a ticket." My mouth turned down a little at the corners.

An emotion that I couldn't recognize crossed his face. It was sort of sad, with a twinge of regret, but also... happy? Hopeful? But then it changed back into an unreadable mask. "Oh," was all he said.

"Yeah." This was an awkward conversation. Even in the past, when we were trying to hurt each other (Yes, I had planned a few traps for him. Nothing fatal, of course), it hadn't been awkward. This was entirely new.

It was time to get down to business. "Ian," I started. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what happened. But it's not all my fault. I didn't kiss Hamilton, he kissed me! I didn't think of him that way, I swear. He's like..." I searched for the right word. "A brother to me. Nothing more. The minute you stopped talking, and left, I told him I didn't feel that way about him. He was put down, but I didn't care. Because I felt such strong love for someone else," I told him truthfully.

Ian only stared at me, his face still a blank mask. Did he believe me? I just looked back at him.

Finally, after a few minutes of staring, he said, "I have to go. Natalie's waiting for me." And with that, he walked off.

Pain. Regret. Rejection. More pain. These are the feelings that flowed throughout my body, so strong. I crumpled over into a ball. Why had I bothered? He hadn't believed me. That much was obvious. He probably hated my guts even more now.

Numbly, I headed back to the hotel. The whole way, I was fighting tears.

When I arrived, Nellie asked, "How'd it go?" She smiled at me.

That little smile was all it took. The tears started flowing. Without answering, I walked into my bedroom, and cried freely, for the second time in a week, because of unbearable heartbreak.

**AN: Review please! I hoped you liked it, even if it was sad. It's not the end, though, so don't worry. Anyway, heres the shout outs:**

**7Cerberus7: Thank you! You review so much :) it makes me happy :).**

**Rattravellar: That's great advice. I used it. The story is finished, I just have to edit it. And add in author's notes.**

**Joelle8: Thanks :). I thought it sounded like Natalie too.**

**yay: thanks, and yeah, Amy has.**

**amyfan97: Thanks so much! Yeah, I was sad to see the necklace go. But I wanted Amy to have to sacrifice something. After all, she couldn't just say, 'hey! I want to go on a jet!' and not have any money.**

**Vampire-Historian-Crazy-Teen3: Yes, it's sad to see the story go, but I have another one in mind. I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I'm just putting together a bunch of random times after Ian and Amy are together. I haven't seen too many of those on.**

**Okay! Done with shout outs :). So, review! Bye!**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: Well, not much to say, but I was kinda excited about this chapter, so I'm updating fast. Hope you like it!**

Chapter 18: Thinking

Ian's POV

When I arrived back at the hotel Natalie and I were staying in, I laid down on my bed, and started to punch the pillow, to redirect my anger, as I had learned to do in yoga class.

How could I have been such an idiot? It was obvious Amy was in pain! So badly I wanted to hug her and tell her everything was fine, and yet did I? No! What was wrong with me? Clearly she had meant her apology! When I left, she looked like she was about to cry. I was a monster for causing her tears, again. She was giving me a chance to forget our pasts, and I threw it away like it was sour milk.

Now, after thinking through what I wanted, I realized that the clue hunt didn't even matter to me anymore. It didn't mean a thing, if I could be with Amy. I would give up the money, the fame... all of it. Some other fool could search for the thing that had only torn Amy and me apart. The bigger issue of this whole thing, though, was convincing her!

My eyebrows crumpled in frustration. What was I supposed to do? I could hardly go and see her. She would slam the door in my face, telling me to go away, that she had been hurt too many times before--- by me--- and that she couldn't take it anymore.

No, it wouldn't work. So how was I supposed to tell her that I loved her? Even after that horrible kiss, I couldn't find it in myself to hate her. More, I hated myself for not telling her how I felt soon enough. And now she had told me that she loved me, too... Unless she had been talking about Jonah (can you hear my sarcasm?).

She had sold her necklace to buy the plane ticket to see me! She must love me, if she had sold her necklace. Amy had loved that necklace. It was like having Grace's memory with her. She had given Grace up, for me! It was almost impossible to believe. That Amy had chosen _me,_ even when I didn't deserve her.

That piece of information, it gave me hope. Maybe there was a small chance that I actually could be with her....

Amy had apologized, and explained. Now I could, too, although, I wasn't sure how to explain to her about what I had done. I wasn't thinking when I deserted her.

She shouldn't have given up her necklace for that conversation. It wasn't a good one. It had felt awkward. I needed to make it up to her.

When I picked up my cellphone, I knew exactly the number I was dialing.

**AN: Cliffy! Who do you think he's dialing? Here's a hint: it's not Amy. Take a guess, see if you get it right :). Please review!! Again, here's some shout outs:**

**7Cerberus7: Yes, I know. He wasn't thinking. He was just plain ol' dumb!**

**Joelle8: Actually, that wasn't the case. Good interpretation, though. More, Ian wasn't thinking. At all. All he could picture was Hamilton and Amy together, and that made him sad/emotionless/heartless. Although, I didn't add that in. **

**amyfan97: No, Kaitlin and Hamilton aren't out. They just haven't showed up for a while. And thanks for your compliment!! You're so sweet!!**

**Vampire-Historian-Crazy-Teen3: aww you were crying? I feel kind of special to have made you cry!! Even though I shouldn't. Oh well. I'm not sure I'm making a sequel... I'm going to have everything resolved by the end of the book. I might make something sort of like a sequel... just a bunch of one shots that sort of branch off of this book.**

**Rattravellar: Yeah, that would have been too cheesy. I don't really like it when books (or movies) do that, most of the time. It just doesn't happen in real life.**

**End of reviews! Keep on reviewing! These are what give me the motivation to keep updating!**


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Hey!! This story is finally updated :). I've been pretty lazy lately, but now that I'm updating it, I feel really good for some reason!! That's why these author's notes are filled with smileys and exclamation points, if you haven't noticed. There's more at the bottom. And a lot of you guessed who Ian called!! On with the story!!**

Chapter 19: New Beginnings

Amy's POV

A full day had passed since the conversation between Ian and me. A full day of numbness, sadness, and the unavoidable feeling of being alone. Nellie had tried talking to me, but the rejection had stung so bad I could only utter a few words. I moped around the room, and sat on the couch, doing nothing. Just repeating what had happened, over and over in my head.

It was almost 7:30 at night when someone knocked on the door. Nellie was taking a nap, so I got up, and opened it.

In front of me was just the person I had been thinking about all day. The person who had caused me so much heartbreak I had cried more than once..."What do you want, Ian?" I asked him. My voice sounded hollow.

"Can I come in?" Without waiting for an answer, he invited himself inside, and sat on the couch.

I went over and sat on the other end of it, not touching him, but close enough for a casual conversation. Even though this was the complete opposite of 'casual.'

"I'm sorry, Amy. I shouldn't have acted like that earlier. It was mean, after all that you did to come and talk to me," he apologized.

My eyes widened. I opened my mouth to speak, but he stopped me.

"Just listen to me for a while," he ordered. I closed my mouth.

"I'm sorry for everything, Amy," Ian told me, with a depth that made my heart melt. "I'm sorry that I left you for dead a year ago in that awful cave. I'm sorry that I almost let my mother throw you to sharks. I'm sorry I threw poisonous snakes and spiders in that pit with you. I'm sorry that I tried to harm you so many times, over and over. I'm truly sorry. And I'm sorry that just now, you came and apologized with all of your heart and I left you, all alone, with no answer. I'm sorry that you had to sell your necklace to have a conversation with me that gave you heartbreak. I'm sorry.

"And I've decided that you mean more to me than the clue hunt ever will. I'm not going to hurt you anymore for this wretched competition that has torn the Cahill family apart even farther than they already were from each other. I mean, just remember when you and Dan split up. If that's not proof that this whole thing is designed to turn one person against another--- even siblings--- then I don't know what is. Do you think that maybe you forgive me?"

I hadn't noticed the tears that had filled my eyes. "I'm sorry for everything, too. The clue hunt got to me, too. And I'm sorry for the thing with Hamilton."

"It wasn't your fault," Ian objected. "I see that now. Can you forgive me?" he repeated.

I didn't say anything. Simply, I nodded my head.

Ian smiled. "I have something to give you," he told me. "Close your eyes and put out your hands."

I followed his orders. He placed something in my hands. "Open them," he told me.

Looking down, I saw the best present anyone could have given me. It was the jade necklace, looking as beautiful as ever. I sucked in a breath.

"How did you get this?" I whispered in awe. I had sold it only three days ago!

"Well, it wasn't easy..." he told me truthfully. "But I have connections."

It must have cost a fortune to get it here so quickly. "But it would be so expensive," I objected.

"You're worth it. I'd give up all the money in the world if it meant I could be with you." This would have sounded corny coming out of any other person's mouth. But when Ian said it, so sincere and so true, my heart nearly stopped.

"Really?" I asked.

"Truly," he replied. "I love you."

And then, to make my magical night complete, he leaned in and kissed me softly.

**AN: Yay! They are together at last! Did you like it? Review! And here are the shout outs:**

**Vampire-Historian-Crazy-Teen3: Haha, well I've been thinking, and I might do a sequel... I'm not sure yet. I do have a bunch of one-shot ideas, and I'm trying to think of how to fuse them together. Although, I just thought of an idea! Yes!! Okay moving on. It would be funny if he was ordering take out :). Although it would ruin the (hopefully) somewhat sappy story. Yeah, he did call for the necklace, as you know because you read this :). **

**PianoMath: Thanks so much:). Sorry it took so long to update!!**

**amyfan97: Yup, they're pretty persistent!! It would be cool if he knew Kaitlin... except I'm not sure how he would. They're from two different continents. Unfortunately, I'm not Kaitlin, I'm athletic, just not that athletic. Plus I'm a dancer. Although I took some qualities of my personality for her.**

**Joelle8: It took a while to update this, and I hope you haven't bailed on my story, but she got her necklace back!! :)**

**Rattravellar: Nope, not mother. Even Ian can't face his nasty mother. Haha thanks for reviewing! **

**Little Lobster: Actually, you are good. You guessed it!! Haha :). **

**: None of those, although those are good guesses. Sorry it took so long to update!! Well, not compared to some stories, but since I have the story finished already except for tweaking... yeah. It's been a while.**

**7Cerberus7: I did read it!! I read your review and was like, 'OMG, it's out?!' and then I read it :). Thanks for informing me :).**

**Gryffindor-Red: Oh, thanks!! You're so nice!**

**mjashernando: nope, the necklace place!!**

**selina1: whoa, you review a lot!! Thanks, by the way. And yeah, he did. Apparently, my intentions weren't very unexpected, haha :).**

**clashgrrl: Thank you!!**

**iluvsourskittles: Thanks for the compliment!!**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: This is the very end of the story! I hope you enjoy it! It's pretty cheesy... actually, extremely cheesy... but hey. Sometimes life is cheesy, you know? Anyway, on with the story! **

Epilogue: The Happy Ending

Amy's POV

I gulped as I took Ian's hand and headed towards his fancy car. We were on our way to a dance. A ball, to be exact. It was a charity event that Ian had tickets to, and I was his date. After having Nellie primp over me for over two hours (I never knew she was so girly!), I was dressed in an elegant russet colored gown that shimmered slightly, my hair fell down my back in delicate ringlets, and, even though I didn't like it, Nellie had put some make up on me. A little mascara and lipgloss. And blush, as though I needed it. I was already flushed with excitement.

"Are you ready?" Ian murmured to me.

Gulp. "I think so," I said uncertainly.

"Don't worry. It'll be fun," he promised.

"I hope so," I told him. I knew it would be, because I was with him. Just being with Ian made me happy. We were meant for each other.

"It'll be perfect as long as we're together," Ian said as he opened the door to the car we were riding in.

Hamilton's POV

"Hey," I said as Kaitlin walked up. She looked gorgeous, even if she was just in jeans and a t-shirt. We were going for a walk in the park.

"Hi," she greeted me. "Haven't seen you in a while," she was joking. We had played soccer against each other just this morning.

I smiled. "Yeah, I haven't seen you in what, like six hours?" Kaitlin laughed. She looked so pretty when she smiled.

"I've been meaning to ask you something," I told Kaitlin uncertainly.

She was curious about my tone. "What?"

"Well, I was just wondering..." I trailed off. I was nervous about her reaction.

"What?" She pressed me on.

"If you'd go out with me," I mumbled, my face bright red.

Kaitlin's brow furrowed. "Huh? Didn't quite catch that. A little louder, please?"

I cleared my throat. "I was wondering if you would want to go out with me." My palms were clammy as I waited for her reply.

"Like, on a date?" Kaitlin clarified.

"Yeah."

Kaitlin's features relaxed into a smile. "I thought you'd never ask," She said, as she took my hand.

Dan's POV

Ugh. This outfit was awful. I was wearing a dress shirt! A _dress shirt!_ Hamilton had set me up on a blind date, for no apparent reason, and I had to dress up! I didn't want to go on a date in the first place! I liked Reagan! And now I was going on a date with some random girl. Great. (Can you hear the sarcasm in my voice?).

Hamilton wasn't actually with me now. He was on a walk with his "friend" Kaitlin. From the way he talked about her, he wanted them to be more than friends.

So, that made my night even more annoying. Dress shirt, blind date, no support. Plus, no time for Ninja Warrior Three! Could my night get worse?

I walked alone to the restaurant that I was supposed to meet this girl at. It served hamburgers, so that was good, but still. The only incentive I had to go was that Hamilton said he'd beat me up if I didn't, and from his tone of voice, I didn't think he was joking.

When I walked through the doors of the restaurant, called 'Joe's Burgers', I scanned the area for a girl sitting alone at a table. I was a little late for the stupid date, so she'd be here.

What I saw was shocking. There was only one table with one girl about my age at it. And that table was inhabited by none other than... Reagan Holt.

My face lit up into a grin. "So you're the mysterious girl for the blind date," I told her.

She smiled back. Reagan looked really pretty when she smiled. "Yeah. You're the elusive guy," she replied. "Come sit down."

By now, both of us had figured that the Hamilton's choice wasn't random. He knew we liked each other. We knew we liked each other. Our friendship was becoming more than friendship, sort of.

"Okay." I walked over to the table, and sat down across from Reagan. I couldn't believe my luck. I owed Hamilton, big time.

Not wanting to waste a minute of this date, I started the conversation immediately. I wasn't sure what to talk about, though. So, I asked, "So, what did you think when Hamilton ordered you to go on a blind date?"

"Oh jeez," She told me. "I was just so nervous..."

And the conversation went on from there.

**The End.**

**AN: I can't believe it's the end! I know it took a long time to update, which is really sad, because it was already written, but I was super busy. Well, thanks to everyone who reviewed, and I hope you like the ending! Also, I'm putting another 39 clues story up if you want to read it. It has nothing to do with this one, but... yeah. I can't believe the story is done!**


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